Behavioral aspects of open spaces in campus design
1. Behavioral aspects of open spaces in
campus design
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
2. Defining Open space
• There is no single definition for an open space. Each of books have different
definition for an open space.
• The definition proposed by Richard Forman is quite broad. According to
Forman “an open space plan is the one that provides for an integrated system of
land and water resources and should be supported by a rational basis for land
use decision making” (1995:462). An open space plan is prepared by locating
and analyzing broad patterns of vegetation and land uses in a landscape. The
connectivity and functions of these areas are also considered in the open space
plan. This forms the basis for planning open spaces.
• According to Lewis (1996), open space for regional areas includes areas with
timber, rivers, small farms, and historic sites. These areas are located between
large urban constellations. Open spaces are areas that play an active part in air
and water quality improvement (Lewis, 1996).
Based on general classification there are 3 types of open space found on a campus.
Formal:
• Tree-lined, well-defined, rectangular spaces, Symbolic core of campus, Social
gathering place, Passive recreational activities, Classical, Relatively flat or
controlled topography. Well-defined exterior spaces similar to interior rooms
Natural
• The natural features of the site along with native trees are retained.
A Composite of the two.
• Park-like settings are defined by edges. Trees are informally placed. Elements
are more rustic (for examples, walls and seating). Passive recreational activities
take place. Settings are romantic. Topography ranges from flat to steep.
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
3. Effects of Landscape open spaces
Landscape open spaces give identity to campuses
• Without great landscape spaces, there would be no great campuses.
• These are spaces shared by students, staff, and faculty as they move
around campus, socialize, recreate, and study.
• These spaces connect buildings and establish the image of the university. It is
the treatment of this campus landscape that forms the opinions,
impressions, and attitudes of the institution.
Provide settings for all kinds of campus activities
• Activities on campuses vary from relaxing to formal/informal events
(university wide, group, class, sports, commencement, etc.), including quiet
study, people watching, enjoying nature, meditation, chatting with friends, picnic,
games, taking photographs and so on.
• The landscape spaces encourage the maximum number of impromptu
encounters with other students, with other faculty members, with visitors, with
works of art, with books, and with activities
• Landscape spaces are essential to alleviate stress among students and
university employees, making the intensity or boredom of classes, and office
work more tolerable.
Protect nature environment
• Landscape nature spaces can help the restoration and protection of
wildlife habitat, that is an ecological concern nowadays within the university
and in the surrounding communities.
Aesthetic pleasure
• The visual quality of the campus has a profound influence on the quality of
people's experiences on campuses. A university can attract and retain faculty
and students, advance educational and research programs, energize fund-
raising appeals to alumni and friends, demonstrate environmental design
concepts.
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
4. Landscape & open spaces
From various books & case studies I have taken a few spaces as which shape
the open spaces of a campus.
Courtyards : outdoor spaces shaped by buildings.
Quadrangles: spaces shaped by group of buildings
Gardens: vary in size but are usually bounded spaces with specific & special
identities
Streets: are linear in nature, providing access, address & service, as well as air,
light & views to or from adjacent properties.
Walks: designate appropriate route between buildings or through open spaces,
courtyards, quadrangles, parks & gardens.
Fields: on a campus are large, relatively level, open areas of turf used primarily for
recreation & athletics.
Surface Parking lots: rarely constitute a permanent land use.
I have taken some open spaces in SRM university, Chennai as a study area
( case study) as a primary area of Observation . The users of the spaces are
students, faculty & staff of SRM University. The following are the spaces
which I observed and found out interesting facts based on the user activity.
Courtyard: in the architecture department
Entrance Passageways: Entrance façade of the Architecture department
Garden: in front of the techpark
Streets: next to the garden
The reason behind taking these spaces are these are the spaces in the
campus where the users are of multi disciplinary ( management, Engineering,
Architecture & Interior Design).
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
6. Courtyard: in the architecture department
Approximate Time of Observation:
8:00-8:30 am 2:00-2:30pm
10:00-10:30am 4:00-4:30pm
12:00-12:30pm 6:00-6:30pm
The spot
was
studied for
an time
interval of
5 min on
Friday &
Saturday
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Food court
MBA Block
New Block
Architectu
re Block
Annexe
block-1
Annexe
block -II
Courtyard
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
7. Activities
• Playing
Badminton
• Student -
Student
Interaction
• Student –
Faculty
Interaction
• Floor - floor
interaction
• Playing
Instruments
• Official
Maintenance
activities
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
MBA
Block
New Block
Architecture
Block
Annexe
block-1
Connecting
passageway
b/w the
blocks
Passage to the
maintenance
Passageway
used as
badminton
court
Landscape
d area
Courtyard: in the architecture department
Space used for seating
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
8. Entrance Porch: Entrance façade
of Architecture department
Approximate Time of Observation:
8:00-8:30 am 2:00-2:30pm
10:00-10:30am 4:00-4:30pm
12:00-12:30pm 6:00-6:30pm
The spot
was
studied for
an time
interval of
5 min on
Friday &
Saturdays.
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Food court
MBA Block
New Block
Architectu
re Block
Annexe
block-1
Annexe
block -II
Entrance Porch
Courtyard
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
9. Activities
• Dance
practicing
• Student -
Student
Interaction
• Student –
Faculty
Interaction
• Used
mostly as
access to
other
blocks
• Car
parking
• Official
Maintenan
ce
activities
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Food court
MBA BlockNew Block
Landscape
d area
Annexe
block -II
Entrance Porch
Landscape
d area
Entrance Porch: Entrance façade of Architecture
department
Dance Practice
Maintenanc
e Activities
Car
Parking
Interaction
Zone
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
10. Garden- in front of the techpark
Approximate Time of Observation:
8:00-8:30 am 2:00-2:30pm
10:00-10:30am 4:00-4:30pm
12:00-12:30pm 6:00-6:30pm
The spot
was
studied for
an time
interval of
5 min on
Friday &
Saturday
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Garden
Street
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
11. Activities
• Taking
Photograph
s, movies
etc
• Student -
Student
Interaction
• Intimate
interaction
• Sitting,
Relaxing,
Sleeping (
mostly by
the
maintenanc
e staff).
• Storage
• Parking
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Garden- in front of the techpark
Parking
Pathway
used for
relaxing
walking,
Sitting etc
Photography
Interaction
Zone
Storage,
relaxing
sleeping,
having
lunch etc
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
12. Streets: next to the garden
Approximate Time of Observation:
8:00-8:30 am 2:00-2:30pm
10:00-10:30am 4:00-4:30pm
12:00-12:30pm 6:00-6:30pm
The spot
was
studied for
an time
interval of
5 min on
Friday &
Saturday
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Garden
Street
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
13. Activities
• Used mostly
as access
to other
blocks
• Student -
Student
Interaction
• Student –
Faculty
Interaction
• Used to
setup stalls
during
events.
• Space in
b/w the
curbs is
used as
storage by
the
gardeners
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Garden
Street
Streets: next to the garden
Interaction zone
Stalls
Space
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
14. Observations from the study
Further steps
• Further observations need to be done by changing the observation time .
• Observation time to be followed are 8:45-9:00am, 10:25-10:35am, 12:15-
12:30pm, 1:25-1:30pm, 4:00-4:30pm & 5:30-5:45pm
• The pattern of movement need to be studied .
• The open spaces in the case study need to be evaluated and the positive &
negative spaces need to be determined
• In case of change in activity in the next observation, the factors affecting the
change need to be studied.
• In case of no activity during the changed observation time interval, the activity
need to be captured and the time interval need to be specified.
General Observations from the study
• Mostly the activities happen wherever the space is shaded.-shading of open
spaces contributes to most of the activity.
• Even though the park is designed based on a concept the pedestrian pathway
is mostly not utilized basically due to the absence of shades, most of the
pedestrian paths are find shortcuts to access other blocks – short & clear
pedestrian paths increases the usage of walkways.
• All round the year changes in the landscaped areas are being done, this
influences the user. A sense of ownership is lost – additions and deletions
need to be included based on pattern of usage.
• Maintenance work is done throughout the day, watering the plants & turfs is
done even when someone is sitting on the turf- Maintenance works should
be performed during specified periods and not while the peak hours.
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
15. Methodology for investigating
behavioral aspects in open
spaces
A multilayered methodology is utilized in this research to develop
reliable results. It includes Direct Impressionistic Observation & Behavioral
Mapping studies of key spaces. It is recognized that there is a high value of
utilizing a comprehensive multi layered methodology, such a value can be
exemplified by the avoidance of any shortcomings of using a singular method
thereby reaching more reliable results.
Direct Impressionistic Observation
• Direct Observation is undertaken for two reasons: the first is to identify key
issues to be explored, while the second is to verify the responses received.
• Verification of the key issues can be done by the walk through evaluation &
survey questionnaire.
• Direct observation in this research involved touring the outdoor spaces
several times within the campus while documenting the tour by photographing
key spaces, key positive aspects & demerits found in the spaces.
• This is conducted as perception of failures & successes of various aspects
changes based on familiarity and in depth understanding of those aspects.
Behavioral Mapping
• Behavioral mapping is a systematic way of recording peoples location, such
as where they sit, stand or where they spend their time.
• In this research a combines unobtrusive mapping technique is used which
integrates “place-centered” mapping & “individual-centered” mapping.
• Place centered mapping aims at observing actions in a particular setting
which are recorded on plans and diagrams.
• Individual centered mapping aims at recording the tasks, activities &
movements of people throughout the space.
• It represents a systematic learning about a particular group of individuals
whose activities are distributed throughout a specific period of time.
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
16. Direct Impressionistic Observation
• From the Direct Impressionistic Observation study the activity time has been
confined to 7:00-8:00am , 8:45-9:00am , 10:25-10:35am, 12:00-12:15pm ,
1:15-1:30 pm, 4:00 -4:30pm & 5:00-6:00pm.
• The key study spaces has been confined to
– Courtyard: in the architecture department
– Entrance Passageways: Entrance façade of the Architecture
department
– Garden: in front of the Tech-Park
– Streets: next to the garden
• The activities observed from the study are
– Courtyard: Playing Badminton , Student - Student Interaction, Student
– Faculty Interaction, Floor - floor interaction , Playing Instruments &
Other Maintenance activities.
– Entrance Passageways: Dance practicing, Student - Student
Interaction, Student- Faculty Interaction, Used mostly as access to other
blocks, Car parking & Other Maintenance activities
– Garden: Taking Photographs, movies etc, Student - Student Interaction,
Intimate interaction, Sitting, Relaxing, Sleeping ( mostly by the
maintenance staff), Storage & Parking
– Streets: Used mostly as access to other blocks, Student - Student
Interaction, Student – Faculty Interaction, Used to setup stalls during
events. Space in b/w the curbs is used as storage by the gardeners
• Key issues observed from the study are Imageability, behavioral variations
&functional variations
Behavioralaspectsofopen
spacesincampusdesign
Swetha.K
Reg No:6661010001
M.Arch P.T
SRM University
